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STOP PRESS
An Open Invitation

125 Years
1887-2012

You are Cordially Invited to our Annual Public Meeting
at the Kew Civic Centre

7pm Thursday 16th February 2012

KEW COTTAGES COALITION INC. PRESENTS

Kew Cottages
125th Anniversary

The Premier, his Ministers, and all Local Members of State Parliament have been invited to:

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT's
PUBLIC MEETING

Ted Baillieu, Premier of Victoria

Mary Wooldrich Minister
for Community Services.

David Davis (Minister for Health and Ageing), Matthew Guy (Minister for Planning),
Andrew McIntosh (Minister Responsible for establishing an Anti-corruption Commission) ,
Mary Wooldridge (Minister for Community Services)

Andrea Coote (Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Community Services), Georgie Crozier MLC Southern Metro

***

Opposition Local MLC's (Southern Metro)

Sue Pennicuik, Greens MLC Southern
Metro

John Lenders (ALP), Sue Pennicuik (Greens)

7pm Thursday 16th February 2012

Phyllis Hore Room
Kew Civic Centre
Cnr Cotham Road and Civic Drive
KEW

Melways Map 45 D6

To Help Explain:

1. The Ongoing Failure of the Baillieu Government's Election Plan for the Remaining 15 Hectares of Public Land surrounding Kew Cottages; and

2. What the Government will do now to ensure its Kew Cottages Election Promise is kept ?

***

ALL WELCOME !

The story so far...

125 Years Ago, way back in 1887, Kew Cottages was Australia's first 'Government Insurance Policy' for intellectually disabled kids and their families.

It offered asylum for the children on a significant piece of Public Land outside of the walls of the Willsmere that was permanently reserved by an Act of Parliament for the intellectually disabled.

Today, Kew Cottages is like a "canary down a coal mine". Over the past ten years nearly half of the the 27 hectares of Public Land surrounding the Cottages in 2001 has been progressively sold off by the Bracks, Brumby, and Baillieu Governments in a most disturbing manner. The 'State Government Insurance Policy' for intellectually disabled kids and their families looks decidedly battered and bruised.

In 2008 concerns were raised by a Parliamentary Inquiry that the Government sell-off of the Kew Public Land was shrouded in secrecy and not in the public interest. The Inquiry also expressed concern that two property developers involved with the Kew Public Land deal, Walker Corporation and Mirvac, had both made large political donations to the Victorian ALP days before the 2006 State Election.

At the end of 2008 Parliament instructed the Victorian Ombudsman to investigate the probity of the Victorian Government's Kew Cottage's contract, including the role of lobbyist Graham Richardson in the deal.

At the time of the November 2010 State Election there was a strong smell of corruption in the air. The Brumby Government was voted out of office, and the incoming Baillieu Government made an election promise to refer numerous concerns about the redevelopment of Kew Cottages to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission that Baillieu promised to establish by July 2011.

The Baillieu Government also promised that, subject to any contractual obligations to the contrary, all of the remaining Kew Cottages Public Land would be listed on a new Victorian Register of Significant Public Land.

In February 2011 a Public Meeting convened at the Kew Civic Centre endorsed the Baillieu Government policy. The Public Meeting also called on the Government to impose an immediate moratorium on further Pubic Land sales at Kew Cottages, and to implement all of the Recommendations of both the Victorian Ombudsman's Inquiry, and the Victorian Public Land Inquiry. Read More >>

However, after a year in power, the Baillieu Government has comprehensively failed to deliver on its election promise for Kew Cottages.

And while the Government has so far failed to set up its promised Anti-Corruption Commission, and failed to preserve Public Open Space, it has continued to develop, approve, and sell off Kew Cottages Public Land.

** NB This year we have rescheduled the Kew Cottages Annual Public Meeting from 1st February to 16th February 2012 **

From The Archives...

2011
2010
Thursday 25th November 2010

Baillieu offers disabled a real alternative at Kew

There is now a clear difference in policies between the major parties for the development of the remaining 14 hectares of Public Land at Kew Cottages.

ALP Southern Metropolitan Candidate, Jennifer Huppert, says a Brumby Government will provide four more years of "great success", plus five story apartments overlooking the Yarra Bend Parkland.

Ms Huppert's vision for the future of this project is "that it continues to deliver high quality integrated housing for former Kew Cottages residents."

On the other hand, however, Liberal MP for Kew, Mr. Andrew McIntosh says that a Baillieu Government will insist on the developer of Kew Cottages fulfilling all its contractual obligations, "including the preservation of 40 percent of the site as open space and restoring the recreation building that was demolished in breach of contract".

In this week's Liberal Nationals Coalition policy statement on the future development of the remaining Kew Cottages Public Land, Mr. McIntosh says that a Baillieu Government will support the Kew Cottages Coalition Alternative 5-Point Plan.

Mr. McIntosh says that:

"The (Liberal Nationals) Coalition is also aware of short-comings in the building of the 55 first stage private dwellings. Despite the statement by then Community Services Minister, Sheryl Garbutt in June 2005 that surplus funds from the sale of the land would be invested in disability services, the Ombudsman’s report notes a departmental briefing of the Treasurer in March the same year advising that it was unlikely there would be any surplus from the project."

Outlining his personal vision for the future development of the site, Mr. McIntosh goes on to say:

"The future of the Kew Cottages site depends on the extant contractual arrangements between the Victorian Government and the developer. Much of these arrangements remain shrouded in secrecy. As no monies have or are likely to be applied to disability services as the original justification of selling public lands, my own personal vision would be that the Kew Cottages site remains part of the stock of public lands."

Mr. McIntosh says that, subject to any contractual obligations to the contrary, all of the remaining Kew Cottages Public Land would be listed on the new Register of Significant Public Land to be established by a Baillieu Government.

He said that a Baillieu Government would also refer numerous concerns about the redevelopment of Kew Cottages to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission once it is established in July 2011 for investigation and report.

President of the Kew Cottages Coalition, Brian Walsh, today welcomed the Liberal Nationals Coalition policy statement on the future of Kew Cottages. Mr. Walsh said, that "At last the disabled have a clear difference in policies between the major parties that they should consider when they vote on Saturday."

Mr. Walsh said, " The response we have received from both the Australian Greens and DLP is also extremely positive".

Southern Metropolitan Greens MLC, Sue Pennicuik, describes her vision for the site as follows:

"I am on the record as opposing the sale of the land at KRS for private housing and supporting the use of the remainder of the site for much needed disability respite care - in the spirit of what the land was originally set aside for. I support the five points below, with the qualification that I would support a register of public land no matter who is in government. The lack of a comprehensive register of Victoria's public land was a key finding of the Select Committee into Public Land Development, of which I was a member."

Responding by phone to the Kew Survey, Western Victoria DLP MLC, Peter Kavanagh, said he still had major concerns about the State Government's inadequate response to the long standing needs of intellectually disabled Victorians.

He said he welcomed the Kew Coalition's Alternative 5-Point Plan for the Kew Cottages site, particularly the possibility of establishing new respite care and family support services for the disabled.

Mr. Walsh that he personally believed Mr. Kavanagh had been the intellectually disabled community's strongest supporter in the last Parliament, and that Mr. Kavanagh had played a pivotal role in establishing the two recent Public Inquiries held into the Kew Cottages Affair.

Mr. Walsh said, "Hansard is quite clear, the voting record is quite clear - without Peter Kavanagh's vote in Parliament Victoria simply would not have had the recent Parliamentary Inquiry into Public Land Development.

"Similarly, without Peter Kavanagh's vote to refer the matter to the Ombudsman, the Government would not have supported the Victorian Ombudsman investigating the Kew Cottages and St Kilda Triangle Tender processes - so I think it is fair to say that Victoria owes Peter Kavanagh a lot," Mr. Walsh said.

From The Archives

2009
2008

From The Archives
2007

Royce Millar's
Front Page Story
The Age
Wed Mar 28 2007

'Richo' on board cottages project' (Click here for Hardcopy Version)

Or Read Online Version at:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/richardson-weighs-in-on-cottages-project/2007/03/27/1174761470790.html

Background Environment Issues Monday 10th July 2006 Melbourne Channel 10 TV News Reports "Yarra Bend Park May Now Be Under Threat" from Deadly Tree Disease at Kew Cottages View Windows Media wmv video file (1min39s): (Archive ..)	Bracks Government Cover up on Biosecurity Threat to Yarra ? Tuesday 14th March 2006 Brian Walsh tells the ABC's 774, Jon Faine, he is astounded that the Government now claims it was unaware of the discovery of the fungus at Kew Cottages. Walsh says the Government claim is nonsense, "our information is that they have known for weeks.. " (see below) Listen to the full Interview mp3 audio (2min 34s):

The Big Con ?